The Same
by JustDelora
Summary: "From this hoax of a relationship, an unlikely friendship was born. It was far from perfect, but stemming from the idea that they related to each other in more ways than one, it was what they needed." Dave/Santana Friendship. Brittany/Santana Romance. Rated T for Language. Warnings given as the story continues.
1. Brother Bear and Cruella Deville

A/N: This shouldn't be a long story, but it was something that I needed to get out of my head. I always felt that Dave and Santana would have made great friends if only the show kept Dave around.

This fic is going to deal with a lot of homophobia (including internalized homophobia), bullying, and some violence. I'll make sure to leave any warnings at the beginning of a chapter.

You'll find a heavy Dave/Santana friendship, but don't fret, plenty of Brittany/Santana romance as well. The other characters will make appearances too.

All mistakes are mine.

Disclamer: I don't own Glee.

* * *

Santana was content lying on her bed with Brittany in her arms, the blonde cuddled into her side. _God, I love the feeling of B's head resting on my shoulder. _Her bed genuinely never felt as comfortable as it did when she was getting her cuddle on with her girlfriend. In fact, she never felt as comfortable as she did when she was simply spending a relaxing evening with Brittany. No school. No glee club. No cheerios. No parents. No pressure. No stress. No outside interference. Just her and Brittany snuggling on her bed in silence. An uneventful night, but perfect nonetheless. _Seriously, I could stay like this forever._

_**Buzz buzz**_

Both girls jumped at the sudden noise. A vibration. Santana's phone signaling that she had just received a text message. _Ugh! Who could that be? Don't they know I'm busy being peaceful and shit? Stupid, freaking mood killer. Maybe if I pretend it didn't happen, we can go back to relaxing. Yeah, let's do that._

"You going to check that?"

_Or not._

Sighing, Santana looked down at Brittany. "I don't want to," she mumbled while tightening her hold around her girlfriend.

"It's almost 10pm. It could be important," Brittany said as she rolled over to reach for Santana's phone on the nightstand. She looked at the phone, tilted her head and inquired, "Why are you getting messages from a known enemy of Mario?"

_Wait, what? _Furrowing her eyebrows, Santana sat up and took her phone from the blonde. _Oh, haha. I completely forgot about that. _"It's Dave." She knew from the look she was getting that she just confused her girlfriend further. "Dave Karofsky. D.K. When we were 'dating,' we played a lot of old school video games to pass the time at his house. It didn't take me long to realize he and Donkey Kong had the same initials." Santana smiled slightly and shrugged. "I guess I never changed his name back on my phone."

Brittany chuckled and responded, "That's cute… and somewhat creepy."

"Yeah, we definitely have a weird relationship." _Like, you don't even know the half of it. _Santana laughed and unlocked her phone to read the message.

**From Donkey Kong: What r u doing**

_Ooooookay. That's random. It's been a few weeks and this is what he sends me? All out of the blue and what not. Psh, I figured he just finally got used to his new school and forgot about the awesomeness that is McKinley. Hmph. Uh, I guess I'll just respond…_

**To Donkey Kong: Chillin' w Britt-Britt ;)**

Almost immediately, Santana got a new message.

**From Donkey Kong: Oh. Ok lol.**

Santana frowned. _Huh. Dave wouldn't message me out of the blue and not want or need something. _She quickly typed up a response.

**To Donkey Kong: What's up? Do you need something?**

**From Donkey Kong: No, nvm. 4get bout it.**

_Okay, now I know something's up... _Santana took a deep breath. _Looks like my night with B is going to be cut short._

**To Donkey Kong: Where are you?**

**From Donkey Kong: The usual.**

**To Donkey Kong: I'll be there in 10 minutes.**

**From Donkey Kong: Thx**

Looking up from her phone, Santana saw that Brittany had sat up as well and was now staring at her intently, concern etched on her face. "What's wrong?" _Oops, I didn't even notice I was frowning this whole time._

Santana scratched her head and gazed at her girlfriend. "I think something's up with Dave." She bit her lip before continuing, "Would it be okay if I meet up with him? I know we were enjoying one of the few nights we get to ourselves, but I really think that he may need me. He wouldn't have randomly messaged me at 10pm on a Wednesday night for nothing."

Brittany pursed her lips in thought. "Honey, duh, you can go. If you think something's up, then something's up. That gut of yours is psychic or whatever. But, um, it's really late. And I rather you not go out so late…" She trailed off and seemed to be contemplating, tilting her head left and right. She then smiled and exclaimed, "Sooooooooooo… I'm going with you!"

* * *

The trip was a quiet event. Santana was concentrating on driving while thinking of how she was going to approach the situation. _It doesn't help that I don't know what the fuck is going on._

With the knowledge that she was going into this situation blind, Santana finally spoke, "Hey B, do you mind if I do all the talking? Dave and you aren't that close and believe it or not, but he and I got to know each other really well when we were each other's beards."

"No problem, Sweetie. I'm just going because of the time… Wait, where are we going anyways?"

"Oh, my bad, babe." Santana shook her head, she was too caught up in her thoughts that she forgot to tell her girlfriend where they were going. _Nice, Lopez._ "We're going to the football field at school. It's sort of our spot."

Brittany nodded and the car was silent again. It wasn't long before they reached the parking lot of McKinley High School. Once there, Santana spotted Dave's car and parked next to it.

With their pinkies linked, Santana led them to the football field. She could see Dave lying down on his back in the middle of it, his eyes trained at the night sky. Warily, she stopped them at the sidelines to speak to the blonde. "Britt-Britt, do you mind staying here? I'm not sure what's going on and it'll probably blow over better if I went up to him myself."

Brittany squeezed her pinky and gave her a reassuring smile. "I'll be right here if you need me."

Santana beamed back, slowly disengaged their pinkies, and began her journey to the middle of the field. But before she got too far, she looked over her shoulder and called out, "Oh and in about 20 minutes, you might want to be closer to the bleachers."

Santana giggled to herself as she made her way to her friend, knowing that her girlfriend would be sporting a confused look. She briefly glanced at Dave once she reached him before staring up to stargaze as well.

Without taking his eyes away from the sky, Dave spoke, "Hey, J. Lo. I see you brought your girl with you."

Santana looked down at him before sighing dramatically. "Yeah, clingy Bitch."

Dave's eyes snapped to Santana's and they starred at each other. A moment passed before Dave burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. _And just like that the tension is broken. Go me!_ Santana grinned as she listened to her ex-beard try to control his laughter. "Ha! Thanks, Lopez. I needed a good laugh," he said.

Santana gave him a cocky smirk and began to dust her shoulder off. "Hmmhmmm. That's what I'm here for."

Clutching onto his side as he stopped laughing, Dave grew silent again. "Yeah…" he breathed out.

Taking her cue, Santana went to lie down too. She nudged his head and Dave responded by lifting it up. She then placed his head on her stomach so that they were lying perpendicular to one another, and folded her arms under her own head. The two shifted a little until they were both comfortable and proceeded to look at the stars. It was all too familiar to them as they often found themselves in this exact position or reversed- Santana's head on Dave's stomach. Sometimes they spoke and sometimes they just lied there. Sometimes they star-gazed and sometimes they kept their eyes closed. In any case, they almost always were lost in their own thoughts. And yet every time they had enjoyed each other's company.

Tonight, Santana knew that they _should_ talk. Something was bothering her friend and she was extremely worried. It had been weeks since she last heard from him. The pair had grown busy with their own lives and had lost touch. It also didn't help that Dave had transferred schools this year. So for him to contact her out of nowhere raised plenty of red flags for Santana.

Santana also knew Dave would take his time before opening up. Like her, he had issues confronting problems and dealing with feelings. And like her, she knew it was best to wait him out. She would not get anywhere if she tried to force it out of him. He would have to get comfortable talking on his own. Even if she wanted to get straight to the point, she knew this was for the best.

Happy with the idea of counting stars with her friend (and girlfriend from afar), Santana relaxed further. It was a really nice night anyways, and it would be a shame not to enjoy it. Maybe Dave just wanted company for now and they could come back to his issues another time. In this moment, they could enjoy the quiet, the perfect weather, and the open sky. In this moment, they could just be there for each other like they have been since they became friends, when it really was just the two of them.

It's sad to think that last year Santana felt completely alone. It was not a surprise that her bitchy persona made her less approachable than most of her peers. So when she and Brittany had split while Santana was still deep in the closet, she really had no one. Brittany was her only friend. _True _friend at least. Quinn was her frenemy most of the time, Puck was a fuck-buddy, and the rest of the Glee Club seemed to just tolerate her. That just left her. At least that was until she blackmailed Dave into dating her.

Their relationship was hostile from the start. She was just lucky that she was perceptive enough to notice Dave's subtle stares towards the male population and deduced that he was probably acting out in some fucked up form of gay panic. They both had a secret to keep and pretending to be in a heterosexual relationship was the perfect cover. However, Santana didn't anticipate actually liking the past bully. _I guess having so much in common would do that to some people._

It turned out that Santana and Dave were one and the same. Both were in the closet. Both struggled to accept that they were attracted to the same-sex. Both were angry because of it. And both lashed out as a result. In the end, and perhaps most importantly, both had alienated themselves from everyone else. They were both alone. And it was the realization that it was their own doing that made them both feel completely helpless.

So, yes, maybe Santana had blackmailed Dave into forming a fake-relationship, but it turned out to be for the best. From this hoax of a relationship, they were able to form a bond; a bond that only two helpless teenagers facing their biggest fears could make; a bond that only two people who felt like there was no one in the world for them could create; a bond that only two people with a deeper understanding of the other could form. From this hoax of a relationship, an unlikely friendship was born. It was far from perfect, but stemming from the idea that they related to each other in more ways than one, it was what they needed.

Santana smiled as she thought about how she and Dave have gotten to this point. _It's amazing how easily we connected._

"You know, you're ruining the peace and quiet with the noise in your head," Dave said, breaking Santana from her thoughts.

Santana sniggered. "Sorry, _Brother Bear_."

Dave groaned at the nickname. "Are we not over that yet?!"

"No, sir. You're just a big softie and this name suits you in so many levels." Santana nodded as if to say that her word was final.

"Whatever, Cruella," Dave mumbled.

Santana smiled and began humming "Cruella Deville." _Cruella Deville, Cruella Deville. If she doesn't scare you than nobody will._

After a few more moments of silence outside of Santana's humming, Dave spoke, "It only gets better, right?"

Santana froze at his words, her eyes widening with recognition. _Oh shit. _Cautiously, she looked down at him. His jaw was tightened and his fists were clenched. She knew what he meant and she was pissed._You have got to be shitting me right now. UGH! I really don't understand people._ Willing herself to calm down, she took her phone out of her pocket to look at the time. It's been nearly 20 minutes since she arrived. _Perfect timing._

Tapping Dave's forehead she asked, "Did you remember to bring a plastic bag?"

Instead of a verbal response, he handed Santana a zip-lock bag with his phone and wallet in it. She slipped her phone and keys into the bag and sealed it tightly. Less than a minute passed before the field's sprinklers turned on. Within seconds they were soaked.

Smiling to herself, Santana rolled out from under Dave's head, allowing it to fall hard. She smirked. _Ouch. Sorry, I'm not sorry._ Quickly she grabbed some muddy grass, rubbed it all over his face and bolted towards the endzone. It wasn't long before she heard squishy footsteps behind her, indicating that Dave was running after her.

"You'll pay for that Cruella!" Dave yelled.

Santana cackled and screamed, "If you can catch me, Brother Bear!"

Hot on her trail, Dave was able to grab Santana and lifted her off the ground.

"Put me down! Put me down!" Santana squealed.

"Never!" Dave responded before he started to spin, effectively making them both dizzy.

Santana screamed, "Stop! You're going to sli-"

In an instant they tumbled to the ground. Dave had lost his footing on the slippery ground and fell, taking Santana with him.

"Ugh, you big oaf," Santana groaned. Hastily she composed herself, smacked Dave upside the head and fled once more.

Dave huffed and took off after the laughing girl.

Racing down the field, Santana dove and slid through the mud. Dave quickly followed suit. They continued to mess around until the sprinklers turned off minutes later. Both were completely drenched and dirty. Clothes and shoes were most likely ruined, but neither of them cared. They got to pretend to be kids again; they had fun and that's all that mattered. For the second time that night, Santana felt at peace. No school. No glee club. No cheerios. No parents. No pressure. No stress. No outside interference. She was sure that Dave felt the same way.

Still high off of adrenaline, Santana gave Dave a challenging look. "I bet I could slide further than you."

Dave smirked. "You're on."

"Run to the 20 yard line and slide from there," she said.

"Ladies first."

Santana winked at him before she took off. Once she got to the 20 yard line, she leapt head first, landed on her stomach and slid to nearly the 10 yard line. She stood where she landed to mark her spot and watched as Dave ran towards her. "You'll never beat me!" she yelled as he dove.

Unfortunately for Santana, Dave somehow stopped just beyond her. _Must be a physics thing. His big ass had more momentum or something._

Arms high above his head, Dave cheered from his position on the ground. "Woooooooo! I am the sliding CHAMP-I-ON!"

Shaking her head in amusement, Santana hunched over Dave and said, "Your ginormous body should _not_ be able to move like that. Clearly you are somehow cheating. Plus you're taller than me, so we should really be taking some feet off that landing to compensate."

"Awwww. Don't be a sore loooooooser, Lopez" Dave teased and gestured for Santana to help him up. Rolling her eyes playfully, she clasped her hands around his and tried to pull him up, but he didn't budge. Grunting, she tried harder, putting her whole weight into it. She was barely able to get him to a sitting position.

Laughing at her struggle, Dave pulled on Santana's hands, bringing her down. She shrieked as she fell onto his lap. She was about to scold him when he wrapped his arms around her. The hug caught her off guard, but she quickly recovered and moved to embrace him as well.

"Hey," Santana whispered. "I'm here."

Dave squeezed her in response.

Santana continued when she realized he wasn't going to speak. "And I'm going to tell you what you told me last year..." She put her hands on his shoulders and leaned back so she could look him in the eyes. "I'm not going anywhere. I love _you_. I would miss _you_. I need _you_ here, too."

Smiling at her words, Dave sighed and nodded.

"Good, now let's get out of here," Santana said.

Side by side they went back to the middle of the field to retrieve their belongings. As expected, the zip-lock bag kept their items safe from the sprinklers.

Santana looked to the bleachers where she saw Brittany watching them intently. She waved to her girlfriend prior to giving Dave her full attention. "I know we have a lot to talk about. Lima Bean tomorrow?"

Dave nodded. "Yeah, sure. After school?"

"Works for me. Let me know if you need me before then. Okay?" The look she gave him told him that she meant it.

He nodded again.

"Sweet. We better get going. It's getting late and I'm getting cold. Not to mention the long shower I'm going to need," she said while taking notice of her mud-covered self.

* * *

They got Brittany and made their way to the parking lot. As they reached their cars, Santana went to speak but was cut off by Dave.

"Thanks, Santana. And, uh, Brittany," he said awkwardly.

The girls smiled.

Dave continued, "You two have a good night."

"You too, David" Brittany said.

"Yeah, and don't forget…" Santana added, knowing that he knew what she meant.

Dave nodded and got into his car.

When his car pulled out of the parking lot, Santana turned to her girlfriend. "Thanks for coming, Britt-Britt."

"No problem, Honey. That was… interesting," she said.

Santana hummed in response and signaled for them to get in the car. Although no words were spoken during the ride home, Santana knew she would eventually need to explain the situation to her girlfriend. But first, she wanted to shower, get back in her bed with Brittany in her arms, and get some much needed sleep. Because tomorrow it's back to the real world. Back to school, glee club, cheerios, parents, pressure and stress. Back to everything outside the bubble she would much rather stay in. _Bleh._ _It's going to be a long day._

* * *

Thanks for reading!

Take care,

JustDelora


	2. In the head of the Head Cheerio

A/N: Okay, so I am now unsure of how long this will be. So I'm just going to play it by ear. I want to go in depth with at least Santana, Dave, and Brittany and that in itself is going to take a while.

For this chapter, I tried to give you guys a peek into the mystery that is Santana Lopez.

I know that there are plenty of unanswered questions. I promise that they will be answered soon enough.

You'll find another A/N below about upcoming chapters, etc.

Big thanks to all you readers. Special thanks to my Guest reviewer, new followers, and those who have added this fic to their 'favorites'.

Disclaimer: I do not own Glee.

All mistakes are mine!

* * *

After her _ah-mazing_ hot shower, Santana, still clad in a towel, met her girlfriend back in her room. She found the blonde staring at a picture of her and Dave on the vanity. It was their Junior Prom photo.

Distractedly, Brittany said, "I remember that night. You and Dave were some of the funniest dancers on the floor. I remember feeling so jealous that my unicorn wasn't my date. And… like, I can't help but feel like it should be me in this photo." She sighed and quickly glanced at Santana before returning her sad eyes to the picture. "You both looked great by the way. To anyone, you guys seemed like a _happy _couple. But we missed something, didn't we?"

Santana went to stand next to her girlfriend and took the photo from its place on the mirror. She looked at it and responded softly, "There's a lot more to anyone, B. We all keep parts of ourselves secret, for whatever reason. Maybe to protect ourselves? Maybe we're afraid of what others will think of our true selves? Maybe we're waiting for the right person to reveal ourselves to? I don't know. But it just is. The way we act. The things we do. Our behavior. There's a reason behind everything. I mean, there were reasons behind my bitchiness…" Santana closed her eyes and sighed. _So so SO many reasons._ _Too many things I need to tell you, Britt. _She shook her head and opened her eyes to make eye-contact with her girl. "I got to do some soul-searching last year. And if it wasn't for Dave, I'm not sure I would have come out of it as well as I did." _Actually, I'm 1000% sure I wouldn't have come out of it as well as I did._

Brittany studied her girlfriend closely. After tonight, she figured that there was a lot more to Santana and Dave than she had initially realized. They seemed to have a connection different than she'd ever seen between two people. It was definitely different than what she had with Santana. On that field, they were in their own little world. The teens playing in the sprinklers earlier that night were not the teens she was used to seeing in public. She had never seen either of them so care-free and unguarded. It was as if the weight they carry around was temporarily removed from their shoulders and their walls were briefly let down, if only for the night.

"I know you have a lot of questions," Santana muttered. _That's an understatement for sure. _"And I'll answer them in time. I just need to find out how much Dave wants you to know." She looked to her girlfriend and hoped that she understood.

"Of course," Brittany replied. She didn't mind waiting.

Smiling at her girlfriend, Santana opened her drawers to retrieve some clothes and proceeded to get dressed. Brittany, already in her sleepwear, waited for her on the bed. They slipped under the comforter once they were both ready and got into their previous positions.

Santana breathed in deeply and closed her eyes. _Oh sleep, how I missed you._

* * *

_**Beep bee-**_

Groggily, Santana turned off her alarm. _Ugh sleep! Why must you leave me so quickly? _Chuckling softly to herself, she noticed that Brittany was now practically lying on top of her. _Once a bed hog, always a bed hog_. With care that only someone with years of practice could manage, she slipped out from under her girlfriend without waking her up.

She got ready quietly and went downstairs to make a pot of coffee. From past experience, she knew that the best way to get Brittany awake was with coffee. The smell of the beverage had some kind of magical powers. No matter what time of the day, it always got her girl up without fail. And considering the lack of sleep they both got as a result of their late night escapade, Santana knew this was a must. A grumpy Brittany was a force to be reckoned with. _She puts Snixx to shame._

Sure enough, in less than 15 minutes, a not so happy Brittany trudged into the kitchen. Her Cheerios top was barely zipped, her long-sleeve shirt under it was bunched up at her elbows, her skirt looked to be haphazardly put on, and her ponytail was not up to Coach Sue's standards. _Simply adorable._ Wordlessly, Santana handed her a mug of coffee just the way she liked it (a lot of milk and no sugar) and continued to sip at her own (black).

Checking the time on the microwave, Santana calculated that they had plenty of time to make it to their Thursday morning practice. She also noticed that the coffee seemed to be working its magic on Brittany as the blonde was a little perkier. She chugged the rest her coffee, set her mug in the sink and moved to her better half.

"You ready to go, B?" she asked her girlfriend as she started to straighten the girl's uniform and redo her hair. She barely got a grunt in response so she continued. "Let's get out of here. You know how I like to get there before anyone else."

Another grunt.

Laughing at her grumpy girlfriend, Santana grabbed their bags and handed Brittany hers. They clambered into her car and drove to school.

Brittany was in higher spirits by the time they made it to the gym. _Thank God for caffeine._

* * *

Cheerleading practice was as grueling as ever, but as a natural born leader, Santana handled it despite the little energy she had. She made sure to join in on the sprints, laps, and suicides that Coach Sue threw around as punishment for every minor infraction. To her, being head cheerleader did not mean she was exempt from such activities. She wasn't there to slave drive- that was Sylvester's job- and the squad respected her all the more for it. She watched her squad run through their routines multiple times, took mental notes of where they all could improve, and helped any Cheerio when needed. She adjusted anything that called for it and took into account any critiques the others had. She may be very perceptive, but she knew that there was only so much one person can see from the outside. When she was just a member of the squad, she knew this to be true. _For starters, why would anyone think to put one of their smaller members at the bottom of the pyramid? How is that safe for everyone else? _Quinn had a tendency to miss things because of it and Santana hated when the former head cheerleader would claim to know what was best. _Every_ member of the squad knew what was best for _them_. Thus, with Santana as their captain, they all worked together to better their routine and by the end of every practice, they were closer to perfection.

Santana took her role as head cheerleader- at least, the second time around- in an entirely different direction than anyone had expected. First, she made it clear that the pyramid was not a way for her or Coach Sue to figuratively rank each member. They all were in equal standings despite where they were positioned and they were positioned in order to ensure a sturdy pyramid. Second, she didn't think of the Cheerios as hers to boss around. She thought of them as what they ultimately were: a squad. They were a team. Both ideas were adamantly disliked by Coach Sue, but Santana could care less. If the track-suit loving woman couldn't see how much better they were because of it, it was her own problem. _Let her kick me off the squad and see how good that would do her._

Her methods were definitely a far cry from her predecessor's. Quinn spent more time trying to maintain her spot as the Head Cheerio by backstabbing anyone to keep it (Santana included) than forming a strong unit within the squad. She simply played the parts of "Sue's pawn" and "head bitch in charge" to the tee. It was no wonder the squad turned their back on her when she got pregnant (again, Santana included).

Santana couldn't fault Quinn for playing her role though. She also couldn't fault Quinn for her cut-throat mentality and use of intimidation to "demand" respect, because when Santana had initially taken over as head cheerleader (albeit for a short period of time before Quinn reclaimed her spot), she behaved the same way. In fact, she would venture to say that she was much _much_ worse. _Ugh, I was such a bitch. _To either of them, the title was most important thing in the world. It meant that you were at the top of the social hierarchy; it meant that everyone _had_ to respect you; it meant that you _ruled_ the school. And what, to a 15-16 year old, was more important than that? _Nothing… Duh. _So, no, she couldn't fault Quinn for any of it. The blonde played her part as head cheerleader the way anyone in her position probably would have.

Santana internally grimaced when she remembered how she and _that _Quinn fought over everything. _I can't believe how angry I was at Quinn for stealing my spot at the top of the pyramid. But in my defense, she was being a back-stabbing jerk. Really? Telling Sue about my summer surgery? As if she's never had any work done. Whatever, the past is the past. No sense in dwelling. Though, I do hope we never have another bitch-slap fight. Quinn has always been a genius slapper._

It was all irrelevant anyways. These days, Santana was well aware that _that_ Quinn was long gone. _That _Quinn was under way too much pressure from daddy-dearest. _That_ Quinn was over stressed to be the perfect All-American teenage girl. _That _Quinn was taking out her home frustrations on everyone else. _That_ Quinn was putting up a façade. _That _Quinn was battling her own demons. _That _Quinn no longer existed. _Thank God for Babygate. _Santana mused that getting pregnant at 16 was probably the best thing to happen to Quinn even if she had reverted back with a vengeance at the beginning of Junior year. _Only a minor relapse. _Because who knows how long _that_ Quinn would have been around otherwise?

Thinking of _that _Quinn had Santana reminiscing about her past self. She was _awful_ and that was putting it lightly. It was as if no one was safe from the wrath of Snixx. _I repeat: ugh, I was such a bitch. _Santana deeply regretted allowing herself to go on a power-high rampage and for playing the part of "Sue's Pawn". In truth, after reevaluating herself, she wanted to stop playing that role at the beginning of this year, but Sue had her ways. _Giving me no choice in the matter. _Yet once the coach had nothing to blackmail her with, Santana was able to be Head Cheerio her way. She was out and being in the closet could no longer be used against her. And since every one of the Cheerios looked up to her, her fight against the "norm" and her on-going battle against the almighty Sue Sylvester was easy. _Well, easier than it could be without back-up. _In fact, it quickly became apparent that Sue needed Santana more than Santana needed Sue. _If she lost me, she would lose everyone._

As practice came to a close, Santana thought of how extremely happy she was that the Cheerios all seemed to accept her. She would be lying if she said that she wasn't expecting any form of backlash. But when she became head cheerleader this year and brought her own leadership to the squad, the other cheerleaders seemed to take to her better than she had anticipated. So even though it might have felt a little awkward after she first came out (_Came out. Forced out. Minor details)_, they still had each other's back. _Besides, anyone can say whatever they want to me. I may be "reformed" but I am still not afraid to cut a bitch._

* * *

The rest of the day continued just like any other day. _Classes. Notetaking. Doodling. Snarky remarks. Walking down the hallway like I own the place. Holding hands with Brittany. Hugging Brittany. Kissing Brittany. Loving Brittany... Glaring at anyone who looks at us the wrong way. Pretending not to hear the whispers. Same ol' same ol'._ Just a day in the life of Santana Marie Lopez.

While paying very little attention to Mr. Schue's attempt at teaching Spanish, Santana found her focus drifting towards the window. A figure caught her eye, but went past the window too fast for her to get a good look. _That's weird. Why would anyone be outside right now? And why do I feel like I know who that is._

The feeling that she was missing something plagued Santana's thoughts for the rest of the lesson. She was so caught up in her own mind that she jumped when the bell rang.

"Are you okay?" Brittany asked. She had noticed that her girlfriend was distracted.

"Yeah, B. I just feel like I'm forgetting something important," she said. Her eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

"Well, I'm right here," Brittany teased. "What's more important than your girlfriend?"

Santana grinned at her girlfriend and shook her head in amusement. "You're right. Whatever it is will come to me eventually anyways."

By lunch time, Santana still thought that she was forgetting something important. It was annoying her to no end. But rather than dwelling on it, she decided to take in the beauty sitting across the table from her. _There's no better distraction than Britt-Britt._ Her girlfriend's hands motioned enthusiastically as she was telling a funny story about her cat, Lord Tubbington. The other glee members around them laughed along and paid close attention. _The story must be THAT good._

As if feeling like she was being watched, Brittany turned to Santana and caught her eye. A slow smile formed on both of their faces. Santana felt only love emanating from her girlfriend and the look she was getting was only strengthening that feeling. Her heart was melting under Brittany's gaze and warmth spread throughout her body. _I really am lucky that she only looks at me like that._

She reached across the table and placed her hand palm-up, inviting Brittany to hold it. She smiled brightly when her girlfriend complied and said, "You know I love you right?"

The now blushing blonde nodded and replied, "I love you too." She then went back to talking to the others, now one-handed, as if the moment never happened even though everyone at the table certainly witnessed it.

Santana, however, continued to stare at Brittany and went back to thinking about how lucky she was to have her as her girlfriend. _I don't know how we have gotten to this point, but I'm not going to question it. The pieces literally just fell into place. _She rolled her eyes at herself. _Geez, Santana. Sappy much? _She shook her head. _Whatever, unless they're that sparkly vampire dude, no one is reading my thoughts._ Happy with herself, she noticed that Brittany was now avoiding her gaze, but kept blushing. _It's cute how she doesn't like all the attention._

Looking at their hands, the cheerleader couldn't help but think about how far she really has come. _No napkin needed this time. Definite progress._ She never thought she would be one to enjoy public displays of affection, but it easily became a part of her life. After hiding for so long, being able to be herself with Brittany was welcomed. Both girls were very fortunate that Santana took being thrown out of the closet in stride. _The operative word being 'thrown.'_

Before her thoughts could go to that "dark place," something in her periphery caught her attention: Kurt's scarf. _Is that giraffe print? Nice one Lady Hummel. _She rolled her eyes at his "superior" fashion sense, but then snapped her eyes back to it. _Whoa whoa whoa. Wait… Scarf... Scarf… _Her eyes moved wildly as she thought. _Scarf… scarf… scarf… _In an instant, Santana realized what she was forgetting. _But why would he be here though? He doesn't go to this school anymore… I must be going insane. _She scratched her head with her free hand. _Fuck it. Just call. He should be at lunch too._

Taking her iPhone out from her jacket's pocket, Santana unlocked her phone, went to her contacts, scrolled to Donkey Kong, and tapped it. She could hear the busy-tone before she even attempted to bring her cell to her ear. Thinking it was a mistake, she tried again only to get more busy-tone. _Dave's phone must be off. Okay, plan B. _She knew Dave checked his Facebook account habitually and went to the app on her phone. However, when she searched his name, he didn't come up. _He deleted his FB account!? _She found the same result with his Twitter and Tumblr accounts. _What the fuck?!_ _Okay, don't panic. He might be in a test or something. _She rolled her eyes at herself. _And deleted all forms of social media because of it? Please._

She looked back at Kurt's scarf and remembered what triggered this all. That figure outside Mr. Schue's Spanish classroom window was wearing a blue and black stripped scarf. She wouldn't have thought anything of it until she realized that there was a brown character on one end. _A teddy bear. That's the scarf I got custom made for Dave as a Christmas present. And the guy I saw was wearing a jean jacket. That's Dave's favorite thing to wear. I keep telling that big oaf that that thing has never been in style…_

Convinced that she did in fact see Dave earlier that day, she sprang from her seat, startling the table's occupants. She looked apologetically at her girlfriend, lifted their hands and kissed the back of Brittany's. "I just remembered that I need to be somewhere. I'll catch up with you later?"

Brittany nodded hesitantly.

That was all Santana needed. She ignored the rest of the glee kids, grabbed her stuff and frantically rushed out of the cafeteria. _Less than 24 hours since I last saw him, and Dave's got me frantic again._ _What has my life come to?_

It wasn't until she was in the hallway did Santana realize she had no game plan. She smacked her head in frustration. _Nice. Very nice, Lopez. Epic facepalm. _Slowing her steps, she thought about her options. _Where exactly would he be? He wouldn't be in the field; it's still bright outside. He probably wouldn't be in the gym or weight room, because someone he knows would see him there. He obviously would want to keep hidden since he doesn't go here. And he must be here waiting for me since we had plans to meet after school… _Santana snapped her fingers. _I know just the place! _With renewed determination and a destination in mind, she walked down the hallway with purpose.

* * *

A/N: And that's Chapter 2 for you.

I wanted to note that I selected the genres _Friendship _and _Hurt/Comfort _for this fic, but there will be plenty of _Romance_ and _Angst. _I gave you some "Brittana" fluff here, but the next chapters will be more angsty.

I hope everyone has a great day/night.

Take care,

JustDelora


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